Automatic gun.



'lilfo, 772,700. PATENTED GOT. 18, 1904: A. T. DAWSON 6; L. SILVERMAN.

AUTOMATIC GUN.'

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

w m j maf ,7; a W Z. W H 3 i0 4% W f ii? BIO/772,700. I PATBNTED 001 .18, 1904. A. T, DAWSON 2; L. SILVERMAN.

AUTOMATIC GUN.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1904. N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 772,700. PATENTED 007,18, 1904..

A. T. DAWSON & EELVERMAN. AUTOMATIC GUN.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1904. H0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

No. 772,700. PATENTED now. 18, 1904. A. T. DAWSON & L. SILVBRMAN.

' AUTOMATIC GUN.

APPLICATION FILED HA'E. 1 2..1904.

N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-BHEET 4.

$06068 dktyezvrzwa Unitarian @TATES T? I "1 "1 rat nia'r ricer ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON AND LOUIS SILVERMAN, F WESTMINSTER, I

ENGLAND, v wns'rtnnsrnn, ENGLAND.

anronario ems.

srncrrroarion' forming of Least latent No. 772,700, dated October is, 1904 application filed March 12, 1904.

T 0 (all whom] it may concern:

Be it known that we, ARTHUR Tnnvon Dawson, lieutenant of the Royal Navy, director and superintendent of ordnance works, and

Louis SILVERMAN, engineer, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing at Vickers Sons & Maxim, Limited, 32 Victoria street, Westminster, in the county of London, Eng land, have invented certain new and useful [0 Improvements Relating to Automatic Guns,

of u hich the following is a specification.

The present improvements relate to breech- 2 5 ing the rearward stroke of the latter to withdraw the empty cartridge-case from the barrel and a fresh cartridge from a cartridgebelt, and during the forward stroke of the lock said carrier operates to insert the fresh 3 cartridge into the barrel and eject the empty cartridge-case intoathe ejector-tube, the said cartridgebelt being meanwhile caused by the action of suitable feed mechanism to move for.-

ward through the gun a sufficient distance to bring another cartridge into proper position for the said carrier to engage therewith ready to withdraw it at the next rearward stroke of the lock. 7

One part of our invention has reference to 4 the means .employed for preventing the return movement of the lock it it should for any reason tail to accomplish its full rearward stroke, so that the projectile of the cartridge withdrawn from the'cartridgebelt by the carrier cannot strike the cap or detonator v of the succeeding cartridge brought forward Serial No, 197,884. (No model.)-

by the belt for the next charge, as explained int-he specification of our prior patent, No. 19,714 oi. the year 1898. According to our present, improvements we make the inside 5 cams, which guide the lateral projections or hornsof ,the carrier during the reciprocation of the lock, capable of movement in a vertical plane against the .resistance of springs and provide the said cams with notches or shoulders, which cooperate with the aforesaid horns on the carrier in such manner that if the lock should not complete its rearward stroke. and should tend' to return under the action of the recoil-spring the said notches or shoulders -5 will-act as stops and restrain the forward movement of the lock.

According'to another part of our invention we provide the lock with a transverse axle upon which three levers or arms are mounted, o 5

one acting as the: sear, another acting as the cocking-arm for the firingpin, and the other acting as the safety-sear, a mainspring being provided and so arranged that it is common to the aforesaid three arms, so that the same 7 spring serves for all of them.

' According to another part of our invention the to rward end of the recoil-spring is adj ustably connected to the gun-casing by means of a screw. having at its outer end a cylindrical or flattened spherical head carrying a ring or the like for actuating the same. -The guncasing is provided with a groove or recess with which said head and ring are capable of engaging under the tension of the recoil- 8O spring when the adjustment has been efiected, thereby preventing said screwfrom being unintentionally turned or working loose by the vibration due to the firing of the gun and yet permitting of the spring turning in a vertical 5 plane when its rear end-is being detached I from or attached to the breech mechanism.

'- According to another part of our invention the push piece which cooperates with a lever hinged to the rear plate of the gun-casing for 9 actuating the trigger-bar to fire the gun has a'sp'ring which engages with a tail formed on the forward end of a-locking-arm. This locking-arm is hinged to the said rear plate of the gun-casing and prevents the push-piece from being actuated to tire the gun until guide for the cartridge-belt, which guide fits into openings in the side plates of the gun'- casing by a longitudinal movement of said guide. The lower portion of the feed-block, immediately below the mouth ofthe guide, is formed with a hollow portion or casing, within which we arrange the feed and retaining pawls for the belt, said pawls being constructed and operating as hereinafter described.

In order that our said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect. we will describe the same more fully with reference to the acco'mpan ying drawings, in which- I r Figure l is a vertical section of the rear part or casing of a .45 automatic gun constructed in accordance with our invention, the breech mechanism being shown in theposition it assumes when the breech is closed and the gun fired. Fig. 1 is a part of Fig. 1'. Fig. 2 is a plan with the hinged cover-plate removed. Fig. 2 is a part. of Fig.2. Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical sections of the breech mechanism, showing the same respectively in the position it occupies when the lock has been'fully retracted ,and when said lockhas been only partially retracted-and is restrained from returning toward the breech. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, and Fig. 6 an end view, of the front part of the said recoil-spring andits screw fastening for attaching it to the gascasing. Figs. 7 and 8 are'cross-seetions taken approximately on the line 1 1 of Fig. 1-'-and showing the cartridge-belt'feed mechanism in two positions. Fig. 9 is an elevation, and Fig. 10 an end view, of the sear, the cockingarm, and the safety-sear, together with their spring, shown more clearly than in the other figures. Figs. 11,12, and 1-3 show the said sear, the cocking-arm, and the safety-sear separately.

A A are the side plates of the gun-casing, that inelose the, breech mechanism. A is the hinged cover 07 said casing, and A the hinged rear plate. J

' B is the reciprocating lock; B, the sliding cartridge-carrier thereon.

B B are tihe side levers of the connectingrod B, by which the lock is coupled with the crank B ofthe oscillatory crank-shaft B B is the hinged lever for actuating the slidingcarrier.

(J is the barrel.

D is the ejector-tube, and D the ejects-- spring.

cam is a notch or shoulder e the cocking-arm.

E E are the inside cams, which guide the lateral DI'OJGCtlOUS or horns B of the sliding carrier during the reciprocation of the lock.

. B is the transverse axle on the lock-casing,

move about said pivot ina vertical plane against the resistanceof the spring'e, which normally tends to keep the rear end of the cam pressed upwardly against a stop a on the said side plate A. Near the rear end of the I Y As the lock recedes from the barrel the horns 13 0f the cartridge-carrier press upon the upper surface of the cams by the action of a cam a on the cover-A in the usual manner, and assaid horns pass over the shoulders 6 they depress the rear ends of the cams E by turning'them about the pivots e, the said cams rising again to their normal position under the action of the springs e and bringing the said shoulders 13 in front of the horns. In the event, therefore. of the look not fully completing its rearward stroke and tending to advance again under the influence of the recoil-spring G these shoulders act as stops, as represented in Fig. at, and

prevent the lock from advancing toward the barrel, as aforesaid.

The said levers or arms F F F are mounted loosely on the axle B", carried by the lockcasing. The lever or arm F has a scarf, engaging with the firing-pin B, and a depend ing tail, which lies in a position to be acted upon by a projection IL on the trigger-bar H when the latter is actuated by the push-piece- H to fire the gun, thus acting as the firingsear. The lever or arm F has a forward portion that likewise engages with the firing-pin and also has a rearward extension or tail which is actuated by the portion V of the side levers as the lock performs its rearward stroke, thus cocking the firing-pin, and therefore acting as The lover or arm F has a forward portion that engages with the firingpin and has a rearward extension terminating in a lug f, with which the projection 6 of the side levers impinges to disengage the liring-pin as the connecting-rod straightens and the lock completesv its forward movement,

thus serving as a safety-sear. This lever or arm also has a depending piece terminating in a lateral projection or ledge 7". The aforesaid depending tail of the-arm F also has a similar lateral projection 61' ledgef these two ledges ff the divided lower limb of the spring F bears, the upper member thereof bearing against the under side of the Upon rearward extension of the arm Thus these head and its ring when the latter is turned into the position shown'in Fig. 1, whereby the screw is locked 1n its ad usted positiod,

the said head of the screw nevertheless serving as a pivot about which the spring and its core can turn in'a vertical plane.

, The push-piece H is made hollow to contain the spring it, one end of which abuts against the rear of the push-piece and the other end against the tail if of the lockingarm [L3, which is hinged at b This lockingarm has a shoulder it and a thun'i'b-piece it. In its normal position, which is that shown in Fig. 1, the shoulder it engages with a shoulder on the push-piece by the action of its spring it, thus preventing said puslrpiece from being actuated, V hen, however, the locking-arm is moved upward about its pivot h it releases the push-piece, which is then free to be actuated to fire the gun. On releasing the push-piece it is returned to its original position by the spring h, which at i the same time acts on the tail if of the locking-arm 76, thereby causing the latter to turn downward about its pivot and bring its shoulder it in front of the shoulder of the pushpiece, thus locking the said push-piece and preventing the accidental actuation thereof.

The cartridge-belt feed-block and its meclr anism are illustrated by Figs. and 8" The said feed-block has the channel or guide 1, adapted to enter the gun by a lon; Ltudinal movement thereoh-that is to say, irstead of vertically slotting the side plates A. A oi the gun-casing, as heretofore, in order to enable the feed-block to be placed in position by a downward movement thereof and retaining said block in place by the hinged cover of the gun-casing closing the open upper ends said vertical slots, we make the said side plates with two rectangular holes situated opposite each other, with which holes the teed-block engages by a lateral movement, the block being retained in place by a projection on the hinged cover A engaging with a slot "i in the .upper face of the said guide 1'. By reason of these holes being completely surrounded with a margin of metal the strength of the side plates A is not so much (lllllll'liSllGCl as when said side plates are formed with the usual vertical slots, that of necessity have no margin of metal along their upper parts. 11 is the hollow portion or casing'of the feed-block, provided with an axle 1 carrying the feed-pawl c and the retainingpawl 01, both of which are of t shape. The said feed-pawl i has an arm 2' at its lower part, which projects through an opening at" in one of the side plates of the gun-casingand engages with an oblique slot a formed in the adjacent recoil-plate A so that the movement of said recoil-plate transmits the necessary motion to the feed-pawl for actuating the cartridge-belt. The said feed-pawl is made in two parts hinged together at 2' anda spring a" couples the lower by said feed-pawl and retaining-pawl are rendered flexible in the direction of the feed movement of the belt. The lower side 17' of the guide of the feed-block is suitably slotted to enable the upper or free ends of the feed and retaining pawls to project into the said guide for operating on the belt. The upper portion of the feed-pawl is guided in its movements by a projection i thereon engaging with the under side of the guide of the feed-block. The lower or outer end of the retaining-pawl has a tail '5 which projects through an opening in the aforesaid casing l of the feed-block, so as to enable said retaining-pawl to be shifted from its retaining position relatively to the said belt when the latter is required to be withdrawn from the feed-opening oi the block, it being understood that as the cartridge in the pocket of the feedbelt immediately in front of the feed-pawl i has been previously removed by the cartridgecarrier no undue impediment to the withdrawal of the belt is exerted by said feedpawl. The axle 1 upon which the said pawls are mounted, may be split and may have its outer end so shaped that the split members thereof can. be caused to approach by pressure exerted thereon with the gnnneirs lingers when it desired to remove said axle from the feed-block.

W hat we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent o'l -thc United States, is

1,. in an r-iutomatic gun, the combination with a reciprocating lock, a recoil-spring and a-connecting-rod coupling said lock to a crankshaft; of a cartridgc-carrier sliding on said loci-t, horns on said carrier, movable cams onthe side plates of the gun-casing with which cams said horns co perate, shoulders on said movable cams, and means whereby the cams are depressed by the rearward. movemento'f the E001; and regain their normal position after the horns have passed said shoulders for the purpose specified.

2. .lnan automatic gun,

the combination -position after the horns have passed said shoulders, for the purpose specified.

3. In an automatic gun, the combination with a reclprocatlng lock and a connectlngrod coupling said lock to-a crank-shaft, of a helical recoil-spring, a rigid strut surrounded by said spring, a screw-nut at the forward end of said spring, acylindrical head adapted to lit a corresponding recess in the gun-casing so as to form a pivot for said spring, a screw-stem on said head engaging with the said nut, and means for disengaging said head from said recess and turning it to adjust the screw-stem in the nut substantially as described.

4. In an automatic gun, the combination with a reciprocating lock, a recoil-spring, a connecting-rod coupling said lock to a crankshaft, a firing-pin in said lock, a scar for liberating said pin to fire the gun, and a triggerbar for actuating said sear; of a push-piece coupled to said trigger-bar by a pivoted lever, a spring in said puslrpiece, a hinged locking-arm having a tail which is acted on'by said spring for normally keeping the hinged locking-arm in a position to stop the movement of the push-piece, and means for liberating said hingedlocking-arm substantially as described.

5. In an automatic gun, the combination with a reciprocating lock, a recoil-spring, a connecting-rod coupling sa1d lock to. a crankshaft, and a firlng-pin in said lock; of a firing-sear, a retaining-sear, and a cocking-arm all mounted on the same axle of the lock, and a single spring for controlling the said sears and cocking-arm substantially as described.

6. In an automatic gun, the combination with a reciprocating lock, a recoil-spring, a connecting-rod coupling said lock to a crankshaft and a sliding cartridge-carrier on said lock; of a cartridge-belt feed-block havfi av cartridge-belt guide adapted to enter er, s openlngs 1n the gun-casing by a lateral movement thereof, a hollow portion or chamber below the mouth of the said block, a belt feed-pawl located Within said chamber and made in two articulated portions, aretainingpawl also located Within said chamber and connected by a spring With the portion of the feed-pawl nearest its fulcrum, an arm on the last-mentioned portion of the feed-pawl engaging with an oblique slot in one of the recoil-plates of the gun, and a stop or projection on the hinged cover of the gun-casing for retaining the block in place substantially as described.

in testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands, in presence of tWo subscribing wit; nesses, this 29th day of February-19042.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON. LOUlS SILVERMAN. \Vitncssesz' i JOHN J. SHIELDS, G. A. SEARLE. 

